Some Disney theme park makeovers work, others fail miserably

The lobby area of the new Guardians of the Galaxy- Mission Breakout! is full of display cases owned by the character The Collector at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, California, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017.
The ride, similar to The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror it replaced, gives the riders a sensation of free-falling as doors open with new visual effects from the Guardians of the Galaxy universe.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Disney frequently changes its attractions, with seasonal overlays such as Haunted Mansion Holiday, new shows such as the “Frozen” musical replacing “Aladdin, and tear-downs such as Big Thunder Mountain replacing the Mine Train through Nature’s Wonderland. But I am looking just at rethemes, where Disney kept the same underlying attraction and just changed the characters, thematic setting or narration.

THE DRAWS

5. Pirates’ Lair on Tom Sawyer Island: Designed to promote Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, this retheme fits pretty well with the established Tom Sawyer theme of the island, as Tom and Huck seem like the type of kids that wouldn’t turn down a pretend pirate adventure. But let’s knock this down a level for Disneyland closing the fort and treehouse over the years instead of maintaining the island to the standards of its Orlando and Tokyo siblings.

7. The Seas with Nemo and Friends: Adding the Nemo characters to Epcot’s aquarium might have increased its entertainment level, especially for younger visitors, but it undercut the educational value of what used to be a much more informative pavilion.